Rules > Conditions
Characters in Ask Again later can gain Conditions—things which represent ways in which the story has affected your character, and what she can do to move past those events. Characters don’t inherently have Conditions; events in the game apply them and they remain until certain resolution criteria are met. Some specific conditions are usually caused by Unnatural Advantages, while others just happen because you have taken a large amount of damage. Any Advantage which causes a condition lists the specific condition right there in the rules, for your convenience.
Here is the list of all 5 Conditions we will be using in Ask Again Later.
Charmed
Your character has been charmed by a supernatural force of personality, referred to here as the Charmer. They don’t want to believe that anything the Charmer says is a lie, and your character can’t read his true intentions. The Charmer gains +3 to Manipulation draws against your character, and any Wits + Empathy draws they make to detect his lies or uncover his true motives suffer a -3 penalty.
Your character wants to do things for the Charmer, to make him happy. If he asks, they’ll do favors for him like he was one of their good friends—giving him a ride, opening a locked door, or revealing gossip that they really shouldn’t. Their mind rationalizes these things, but if the Condition is resolved your character immediately knows they were tricked or influenced in some way to do these things. This Condition fades naturally after an hour, which does not count as resolving the Condition.
Resolution: The Charmer attempts to harm your character or someone close to them, your character divulges a secret or perform a taxing favor for the Charmer
Inspired
Your character is deeply inspired toward a specific course of action, stated when you gain this condition. When your character takes an action pertaining to that inspiration, you may resolve this Condition. An exceptional success on that roll requires only three successes instead of five, and you gain a point of Willpower.
Resolution: Characters spend inspiration to spur themselves to greater success, resolving the Condition as described above
Mesmerized
Your character’s will is subordinate to that of another’s, referred to here as the Master. Your character is not obviously hypnotized—they’re a bit quiet and reserved compared to normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. When the Master gives your character a command, they cannot resist. If it’s something that they wouldn’t normally do, it might look like your character has been hypnotized or that they’re sleepwalking, but otherwise they look and act normally. They also can’t quite remember what happened while they were under the Master’s control, but they do know that their mind was violated somehow. Depending on the circumstances of becoming Mesmerized, your character might not even know who did it to them. If your character resolves this Condition, they gain a +3 bonus to resist further attempts to Mesmerize them in the same scene. This Condition fades naturally after your character receives 3 commands or when an hour has passed, which does not count as resolving the Condition.
Resolution: Take any amount of damage, experience a loss in Stability as part of the Master’s command
Tilted
Your character has been hurt, sickened, or disoriented. Whenever your character attempts to take an action, they suffer a -3 penalty.
Resolution: Rest for an hour, choose to go unconscious for the rest of the scene, or receive Medical attention.
Wounded
Your character is bleeding out, gravely injured, or otherwise on death’s door. Choose whether they are going to remain conscious or fall unconscious. Your character’s Bruising damage turns into Lethal damage at a rate of 1 per 15 mins if they choose to fall unconscious, or 1 per round if they choose to remain conscious. Once all of their Health Boxes are filled with lethal damage, your character dies after 1 round. If they are unconscious, this is extended to 15 mins.
Resolution: Medical Attention or death!